


Nightmare

by darkest_nights_will_end



Series: Hollingstwins [7]
Category: Degrassi, Degrassi the Next Generation, Degrassi: Next Class
Genre: But I didn't think they were important enough, Gen, Nightmare, Sibling Fluff, Some of the people on Hunter's kill list have a couple lines, Starts off with Little Hollingsworths, Then goes to sometime post-#Sorrynotsorry, There's some violence and disturbing thoughts mentioned, Twin-centric, Twins, but nothing explicit, twin fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 02:07:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7826047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkest_nights_will_end/pseuds/darkest_nights_will_end
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frankie fulfills a promise she made to Hunter when they were younger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmare

_ Frankie woke up suddenly, breathing heavily. She was soaked with sweat and tears. Her form shook as she laid alone in her bed, sobbing. She was scared and alone. She felt so small in the huge bedroom she had all to herself. Frankie couldn’t even remember what the dream had been about, but it had been bad enough that she knew she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. She looked at the clock next to her bed. It had been a gift from her parents when she learned to tell time a couple months ago. _

 

_ 2:36 AM. _

 

_ Frankie counted on her fingers, reasoning that she still had anywhere between four to five hours of sleep left. The only problem being there was no way she could fall asleep, she was too scared. All she wanted was a hug and reassurance that it was just a dream.   _

 

_ She closed her eyes, telling herself that she could do this as she tried to stop her tears. She was mature for her age, something stupid like a nightmare wasn’t about to stop her. Nothing could stop Francesca Diana Hollingsworth. _

 

_ 2:38 AM. _

 

_ Frankie sighed as she tossed back the covers. She wanted to go back to sleep, but she just didn’t feel safe. No matter how many times she told herself she was okay, she needed to hear it from someone else. There was one place where she always felt safe. She just hoped he wouldn’t be mad at her. _

 

_ Frankie opened the door quietly, creeping from one room to another. Luckily all the of the kids had their rooms right next to each other. She didn’t bother knocking, instead choosing to walk in, careful not to scare him awake. She tiptoed over to his bed, where he was soundly asleep. Frankie felt bad about waking him up, but she needed him. _

 

_ “Hunter?” She shook his shoulder gently. He didn’t stir at first, so she tried again. “Hunter?” _

_ He opened his eyes slowly, swatting her hand away from him. _

 

_ “What are you doing Frankie? It’s the middle of the night and we have school tomorrow,” he groaned, rubbing his eyes. _

 

_ “I had a bad dream,” she said, her eyes wide. Her voice was pitiful, and she spoke softly. _

 

_ “So? Why are you telling me?” _

 

_ “I just- can I sleep with you? Please?” She asked. Hunter didn’t look pleased with her in the slightest. _

 

_ “Why don’t you ask Mom and Dad? Or Miles?” _

 

_ “Because I don’t want to make Daddy angry. And you can’t tell him, but you’re a better cuddler than Miles. It could be like a sleepover,” she pleaded. He was pretty much awake by now, and took a good look at her. She was so small, and the tear marks on her face only served to make her look smaller. It was honestly kind of a sad sight, but, she  _ was _ his sister, it was his job to take care of her. He sighed and moved over, leaving room for her to scoot in next to him. _

 

_ “Just this once, okay? And you better not kick!” He told her matter of factly, even though he knew it would probably happen more than once. Frankie’s face lit up as she lied next to him, pulling him into a quick hug. _

 

_ “Thank you Hunter! You’re the best brother ever! I promise if you  _ ever _ have a bad dream, you can wake me up no matter what, deal?” _

 

_ “Yeah, whatever. Goodnight, Franks.” _

 

_ “Goodnight Hunter. I love you,” she said as she closed her eyes. _

 

_ “Love you too,” he mumbled, throwing an arm around her to reassure her he was there. Within a few minutes, the twins were sleeping just as soundly as before. _

 

* * *

 

Flash forward 10 years, and Hunter was very used to not sleeping at night. He was always so plagued by the thoughts he didn’t dare tell anybody else. Sometimes they’d keep him up until the early hours of the morning, other times they’d wake him from any slumber he could manage to get. But tonight had been different. Everything was so  _ vivid.  _ He could remember every little detail perfectly. 

 

* * *

 

 

He entered the school, holding his bag tightly against himself. Nobody could know what was inside...yet. He scoped out the area, finding all of his targets with ease. He took a deep breath in, mentally preparing himself. He was  _ sick _ of being  _ screwed over _ by everybody. For once, Hunter Hollingsworth was going to get his revenge. To some, maybe he was being extreme. But Hunter knew, people never changed. They’d only continue to reject him, to scare him, to threaten him. He was going to make damn sure that never happened again.

 

And that was when the lockdown was called in.

 

Hunter’s eyes widened. Did somebody know? How could they, he’d had yet to reveal the bag’s contents. He took a deep breath in. Maybe this could work in his favor. 

 

He followed the sound of Tristan’s voice, ushering him inside the student council room. He played along, sitting against the wall as more people entered. Tristan soon closed the door and sat down, allowing Hunter to survey the area. Tristan, Maya, and Zig were huddled together, Maya and Zig’s tension seemingly forgotten for the time being. The three tried to put on a brave face so as to not scare the younger students. Goldi and Baaz were grasping hands, Goldi reassuring him quietly that everything would be okay. Hunter couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Like Baaz gave a shit about his sister. Sitting on the other side of Baaz was Vijay, who had one arm around Yael and the other grasping Baaz. Yael leaned her head on Vijay’s shoulder. The two had always had an interesting friendship. However, his targets weren’t the only ones in the room. Hunter sighed as he saw who else had managed to get inside the student council office.

 

Frankie, Shay, and Lola were sitting, together, yet somewhat distant. It was obvious that there was tension between the three, but Hunter didn’t care. Nobody was going to stop him, not even his dumb sister. 

 

Everybody was relatively quiet, the only sounds being the light chatter among the small groups. Hunter looked around, waiting until the perfect moment to reveal his intentions. He couldn’t wait too long or he would be caught. He scoped the room one more time before deciding he was ready. He stood up, reaching inside his bag.

 

“Hunter, what are you doing?  _ Sit down! _ ” Tristan hissed at him, moving to stand up.

 

“No, you sit down!” he said back venomously. He pulled out the gun, showing it to everybody before pointing it at Tristan, who sat down in shock.. There were gasps heard around the room as everybody got a good look at the weapon. He was nervous, terrified in fact, but he couldn’t let it show. For once, he was in control. 

 

He stared each and every person dead in the eye. He felt a bit of remorse, but it was too late. 

  
  


“Hunter, man, you don’t need to do this, we’re you’re friends,” Baaz spoke up, causing Hunter to point the weapon at him. 

 

“You’re not my friends. You’re just like everyone else. You’d sacrifice your own sister just to save your skin, wouldn’t you?” He asked, shifting his aim to Goldi. Baaz glared at him, slowly moving in front of her, pulling Vijay and Yael closer. Baaz had always wanted to be the hero. 

 

“Hunter. This is crazy.  _ You’re _ crazy. I can’t believe I ever thought I liked you,” Yael spoke up, looking at him with pure hatred. Hunter was about to retaliate, to yell at her, but another voice interrupted him.

 

“Just put the gun away, please. We’re sorry!” His focus was averted to Zigmund, who was obviously trying to shield Maya and Tristan.

 

“You’re not sorry. You’re only saying that so I don’t blow your brains out,” Hunter shook his head in disgust. Zig shook his head, and Hunter relished in finally having the upper hand.

 

“Hunter, where did you even get that?” His sister finally spoke up, the fear evident in her voice.

 

“None of your freaking business. Just sit down, shut up, and you’ll be fine,” he said. He put the gun at his side as he faced her. He had no anger towards her, there was no reason to hurt her. Unless she got in his way

 

“You can’t do this. You don’t want to this, Hunter, I know you. I’ve known you your whole life,  _ my _ whole life. This isn’t you,” she pleaded with him, standing up. She was much shorter, but it didn’t matter to her. She met his eyes, and Hunter wanted to believe her. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t.

 

“You don’t know anything. You don’t even like me, I’m just your weird twin brother. If we weren’t related, we’d have nothing to do with each other,” he told her.

 

“That’s not true and you know it. Please, just put the gun away and we can go home, and read comics, or play video games, or whatever you want,” she promised. But Hunter wasn’t having it.

 

“Stop lying. You don’t mean any of that. Listen to me. Just sit down, close your eyes, keep your mouth shut, and it’ll be over soon,” he gave her one last chance, but she didn’t listen.

 

“Hunter. _ Give me the gun. _ ” She held out her hand, and for a moment, it seemed as if he was going to listen. He extended his hand out, but instead of handing her the gun, he pointed it at her. There were gasps heard throughout the room as Frankie’s eyes widened. Would Hunter go there? Would he shoot  _ his own sibling? _

 

“I’m giving you one last chance, Frankie. Sit. Down.”

 

“No. You’re not going to hurt these people! Everybody gets upset, Hunter. It happens-” 

 

Hunter stared at the scene before him as the echoing noise rang out. In a fit of anger, he had pulled the trigger, not thinking of his consequences. He let the gun fall to the ground as he realized what he had done. He’d  _ shot _ his own sister. She had fallen to the floor, and he could see the blood spilling out of her. Hunter had no idea if she was even alive or not. While he was stunned,  Zig and Baaz had gotten a grip on either side of him. Tristan had his phone out, probably calling Miles. Everybody else was either crying hysterically or was too shocked to do anything.

 

Hunter finally broke free from Zig and Baaz, and kneeled down by his sister. He reached out to touch her, to apologize,  to help her somehow...

 

* * *

 

 

Hunter was quite shaken, to say the least. He couldn’t tell if the wetness was tears, sweat, or a combination. Usually his dreams only affected him. But this time, his classmates, friends, and family had been involved. Even if it was only a dream, he couldn’t help but wonder if he would have done the same thing in real life if given the opportunity.  

 

He shuddered. How could he fall back asleep with that image stuck in his mind? He couldn’t, there was no way. He could still envision the way they all looked at him, like he was a monster. And in his dream, he  _ was _ . He actually pointed that gun at people. He  _ shot  _ the gun at one of the people he cared for most. He probably  _ killed  _ her. 

 

_ “You’re the best brother ever! I promise if you  _ ever _ have a bad dream, you can wake me up no matter what, deal?” _

 

For some reason, the words that were spoken nearly 10 years ago swirled around in his mind. He had never taken her up on her offer when they were kids. He never had a nightmare bad enough to do so. But tonight? He needed the reassurance that she didn’t hate him. That she was still alive and well. Realistically, he knew she was fine, but any of his rationality had been distorted by the picture of him  _ shooting her. _

 

He made up his mind. A promise was a promise after all, right? He wasted no time getting out of his room and into hers. She was sleeping obviously, and for a moment, Hunter contemplated how absurd he was being. Maybe he should just let her sleep. But, hard as he tried, he couldn’t get his feet to move.

 

“Hunter? What are you doing?” Frankie asked as she woke up, sitting up in confusion. She had felt his presence in her room, even as she slept. She couldn’t think of a single reason he would be in her room.

 

“I, uh- well, do you remember when we were little, and you’d sometimes come into my room when you had a bad dream?” He asked. He felt kind of foolish now, saying it out loud.

 

“Yeah?” She trailed off, too tired to fully understand.

 

“You said that if I ever had a nightmare, I could come to you,” he reminded her. A lightbulb went off in Frankie’s head, and she pieced together what was happening.

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked, more awake than before.

 

“No,” Hunter shuddered. He didn’t want to relive it again, nor did he want to freak her out. “Just, can I, you know, stay here tonight?” He muttered as a blush spread across his cheeks. He was somewhat embarrassed to ask, but it was better than being up all night in a panic. Maybe, this way, he would at least get some sleep.

 

“Yeah, of course!” She said, immediately rolling over to let him in. “I meant what I said, even if we were just kids back then.”

 

Hunter pulled back the covers, getting in the bed. It was large enough that it wasn’t cramped. But he felt better being in the same room. He needed the reassurance.

 

“Thanks, Frankie,” he said once they were both settled in.

 

“Anytime. Get some sleep, okay?” She said.

 

“Yeah, of course. Goodnight...I, um,  love you,” He whispered so softly, she almost didn’t hear him. If she said anything about it in the morning, he would deny it. After all, they didn’t say those three words very often, especially as they had gotten older. It was reserved for special times, or else it lost it’s meaning, Hunter reasoned. But in the dead of night, when he was at his most vulnerable, with nobody was around? It was different then.

 

“Love you too,” she murmured.

 

Frankie waited until she was sure Hunter was asleep before she allowed herself to close her eyes. She couldn’t place it, but something was up with him. He hadn’t been the same lately. She just hoped that fulfilling her promise would help him, even if it was only a little bit. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I think I finally managed to write something relatively fluffy! 
> 
> Just to be clear, the beginning takes place when the twins are about 5 or 6. That's why they seem closer, and Hunter isn't as grumpy and jaded as he is in 10 years. And when they're older, Frankie's bed is big enough that it isn't weird for them to be sharing. They have plenty of room!
> 
> Fun Fact! I listened to Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People while writing the dream sequence, and Better Place by Rachel Platten while writing the aftermath.
> 
> Thank you to everybody who has read, left kudos, or reviewed this series! I love hearing your feedback.
> 
> I am still taking requests. I have a couple lined up, but I can always use more ideas!


End file.
